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Daily Archives: 4. May 2017

Former Bayern Munich star, Bastian Schweinsteiger is very sure his former club will win the Champions League again.

Bayern Munich will only be adding one trophy to their trophy case this season, their fifth Bundesliga title this season .

The World Cup winning veteran midfielder is now plying his trade for Chicago Fire in the MLS and is quite sure the Bundesliga giants will once again claim the prestigious UCL.

“No, Bayern Munich is for me one of the top three clubs at the moment in the world,” Schweinsteiger told Goal . “It’s not easy when you lose in the Champions League, or you when lose the cup. I know what it feels like. But still, Bayern Munich is a huge club and they don’t need a transition in my eyes.

“They have great players, they have everything there. Sometimes in these matches, when Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich or Juventus Turin are playing against each other, there are small details that make the difference if you win or not.”

“I’m quite sure in the next two or three years they’re going to win the Champions League again,” Schweinsteiger said.

Chelsea have yet to open contract negotiations with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, despite his desire to remain at Stamford Bridge.

According to reports no contract talks have been scheduled with the Belgian international, who maintains he is settled at the club.

“I have two more years of contract left. In London everything is going well for me and I am happy,” Courtois told Spanish station Cadena Ser in March. “We will see at the end of the season whether they offer me something, but at the moment there is no offer. Would I like to be offered a new deal? Sure.

“I’m very happy at Chelsea and if they want to continue with me, that would be great.”

It is understood Real Madrid are monitoring Courtois’ situation, but have made Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea their top priority this summer.

Mesut Ozil says his Arsenal future does not depend solely on Arsene Wenger staying on as manager.

Ozil’s Arsenal deal – like that of Alexis Sanchez – expires in the summer of 2018 and the Germany international has previously hinted his future is linked to Wenger’s, who brought him to the Emirates from Real Madrid in 2013.

“It does not only depend on the manager,” he said. “Of course he was the one who convinced me to join Arsenal and he was a main factor for me to come here. He is a very experienced coach who made Arsenal one of the best clubs in the world.

“You must have respect for him, because he is a great manager. But I do not decide whether the manager stays or not. What’s important for me is that we develop as a team and reach our goals.”

Ozil, meanwhile, says there is nothing wrong with his attitude amid claims he does not pull his weight at Arsenal.

Ozil is often criticised for a perceived lack of effort when he lines up for Arsenal, with the criticism having intensified in recent months with Arsenal struggling for results, falling out of the Premier League top four and being hammered 10-2 on aggregate by Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

“Some people like me, some people don’t,” Arsenal’s club-record signing said. “Some people look at my body language and think I don’t care. But that’s me. I won’t change my body language or my style of play drastically any more.

“Expectations on me were very high everywhere, because I am a player who can make the difference. You have to deal with that. There will always be criticism and there will always be praise. But what matters is what the manager tells me. I have said that numerous times.

“But what I can’t understand is when people say, ‘Look, he does not push any more,’ or ‘He does not run enough.’ If you look at my numbers you can see I run a lot and I show a good attitude.”

Ronaldo insists he is not from another world, after he reached another milestone on Tuesday against Atletico.

The Portuguese star scored a hat trick for the second consecutive time in the champions league . Madrid lead Atletico 3-0 in the semifinal of the competition.

Florentino Perez presented him with a jersey for reaching 400 goals, although official records say Ronaldo is on 399.

“The truth is I feel really good,” he told Dugout. “I’ve prepared myself to be fit for this final stage of the league and the Champions League as well.

“Obviously there’s a bit of luck as well. I’ve prepared myself and things have turned out well, not just for me, but for the team, too.

“That’s why I say that, with dedication and hard work, as always, things come naturally. I’m very lucky, and I am from this planet!

“It’s a really big amount of goals, something I didn’t expect but it’s a reflection of the whole team, of my work as well as that of all the people who work at the club, the fans that always support us and give us this extra motivation.”

Choc Boi Nation is proud to welcome Yung L to the family as the newest choc boi on the label. He would also play the role of creative director of CBN.

CBN is committed to becoming a leading company in the industry & with the increasing demand from fans and music lovers; this led us to look for an addition to the family who will fit in with our ethos of genius and exceptional good music.
It is very fortunate that we were able to find someone of Yung L’s calibre to fill this role.

Sevilla will not let coach Jorge Sampaoli leave without someone activating his buyout clause, according to club president Jose Castro.

Sampaoli is the front-runner to become the next manager of the Argentine national team, with reports in Spain suggesting the Argentine Football Association (AFA) will look to appoint him at the end of the season.

Sevilla are happy with their coach, who is in his first season at the club, and insist he will not be allowed to leave unless his clause is activated.

“Sampaoli has one more year [on his contract] and a buyout clause. If someone wants to take him they have to pay his clause, it cannot be said more clearly. Either they pay his clause or he fulfils his contract here. We are happy with our coach,” Castro is quoted as saying in AS.

Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare is confident goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel will be still be at the club next season.

The 30-year-old Denmark international, a key figure at the King Power Stadium, he has been linked with a move away this summer.

And Schmeichel has recently appointed a new agent to handle his affairs, prompting speculation he is looking to move on.

However, Shakespeare rejected such claims and, when asked if he thought Schmeichel would be a Leicester player next season, he said: “Yes I do. He’s in the form of his life.

“There’s been a lot of speculation this week, but he’s totally entitled to change his agent. What I would say is he has been very professional, his performances have shown that.

“He has a very strong character, and I expect him to carry on in the same way. I don’t feel the need to talk to him, because he’s perfectly entitled to change his agent when that contract comes to an end.”

The France international, who has spent his entire career at Lyon, is considering a move at the end of the season and he has no shortage of suitors, with Atletico, Arsenal, West Ham and Paris Saint-Germain on his trail.

However, the Gunners are set for a blow as L’Equipe report Atletico Madrid are the striker’s preferred destination.

Atleti tried to sign the 25-year-old last summer but Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas blocked the transfer.

The Ligue 1 side are hopeful of raking in a fee of €60m (£50.9m) when they sell Lacazette this summer.

Arsenal, meanwhile, have also contacted Lyon and the player’s camp to show their interest.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has lifted the restriction on 41 items hitherto marked as not valid for foreign exchange, only for small businesses.

In June 2015, shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari took office, the apex bank placed a restriction on 41 items for which importers could no longer get dollars, including rice, toothpicks, cement, private jets, steel products, plastics and rubber, soap, cosmetics, furniture, Indian incense and foreign bonds.

The governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, had said that the reason for the restriction was to drive local production of goods and services within the Nigerian system.

“Importers of items classified as not valid for forex with transactions value of $20,000 and below per quarter shall now qualify for allocation of foreign exchange,” the bank said in a circular seen by Reuters on Thursday.

Consequently, the restriction still exists for businesses with transaction value above $20,000 per quarter.

Reports have indicated the Chinese Super League club are confident they will sign the Spain international this summer, but they claim discussions have yet to commence.

A club statement read…

“Dear media and football fans, with regards to the current widespread rumours of Chelsea player Diego Costa joining Tianjin Quanjian, the club would like to make clear that no discussions have taken place regarding the transfer.”

Tianjin owner and president Shu Yuhui had earlier fuelled speculation that his club would sign Costa this summer by telling fans a top striker would soon join.

“Now it appears that we will introduce a foreign world-class striker,” he told Jinwan newspaper. “We have three candidates now. It won’t be long before we announce who to sign.

“Our team is working very hard on the negotiation. Tianjin fans, please trust us. Like I promised, he will be a world-class player for sure.”

Tottenham are ready to consider offers in excess of £35m for unsettled defender Kyle Walker.

Walter Mazzarri is planning to undertake an intensive English course after completing his first season as Watford manager.

MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS

Real Madrid star Toni Kroos and Monaco’s Fabinho are at the top of Jose Mourinho’s summer wishlist, according to reports.

Pep Guardiola has added Jack Butland to the list of goalkeepers he is considering this summer.

LIVERPOOL ECHO

Liverpool transfer target Ryan Sessegnon has been tipped to remain at Fulham this summer.

The Reds will demand a fee of around £4m for defender Andre Wisdom this summer.

NEWCASTLE CHRONICLE

Rafael Benítez will meet Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley next week to discuss how to move forward following the club’s return to the Premier League and is likely to be offered a transfer budget of around £70m, according to reports.

Newcastle United goalkeeper Freddie Woodman admits he would be open to a return to Scottish football, as he looks to emulate Fraser Forster’s pathway to the Premier League.

The senate on Thursday postponed the presentation of the report of senate committee on appropriations on the 2017 budget listed on its order paper.

At today’s plenary, the majority leader of the senate, Ahmed Lawan, said the upper legislative chamber will receive the report on Tuesday, May 9, 2017.

He said, “I have also equally been informed that by the grace of God, definitely, the Budget 2017 will be laid on Tuesday. Having said this, Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, I will move that we stand down this report to Tuesday, the next legislative day.”

The Committees on Appropriations in the Senate and House of Representatives had planned to present their reports today, while the presentation was listed on the Order Paper for the plenary.

He, however, said that the senate’s joint committees of appropriation and finance, chaired by Danjuma Goje and John Enoh respectively failed to present the document.

“They are meeting with the house committee on appropriation to cross the Ts and dot the Is of the 2017 budget by harmonising and I have also been informed that by the grace of God, the budget 2017 will be laid on Tuesday,” the senate leader added.

President Muhammadu Buhari had sent the budget to the national assembly in December 2016.

The federal government of Nigeria has declared that President Muhammadu Buhari will continue to rest until he has fully recovered and fit to work based on his doctor’s advice.

Speaking to pressmen on Wednesday at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed, said Buhari was not in the meeting because he chose to rest.

The information minister further reacted to inquiries by State House correspondents, who sought to know if the president’s health had deteriorated to the extent that he was being fed.

His words: “The answer to your first question is absolute bunkum. It is absolutely untrue that he is being fed. He was in the office yesterday as you all reported.

“And if the doctors say he should take a rest, because they think he’ll recover faster, then he ought to rest rather than forcing himself to work when he is not fit to work.

“All he’s doing is following the doctor’s advice. Mr. President himself told the nation he had never been this sick and he is going to take it easy. He said it from day one when he came back from the United Kingdom.

“So, whatever is happening today is not any strange development. It is exactly what he said: that he’s been advised to take it easy by his doctors and that he will soon also go back for further treatment.

“So, I don’t think it’s anything that is out of the place from what he said. He has been quite transparent and upfront in the matter concerning his health.”

Three teenage female suicide bombers were killed in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, on Wednesday night, as they attempted to attack a military outpost popularly called “Gontanamo” along Mina Garage.

The three teenage girls with improvised explosive devices (IED) strapped to their bodies attempted to enter Maiduguri with a mission to waste more lives, the spokesman of the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), Abdulkadir Ibrahim, said, in a statement, on Thursday, May 4, 2017.

After being sighted by the troops in their desperate attempt to gain access to the premises, the bombers were shot leading to the explosion of their concealed IEDs.

The spokesman said a security officer, who was among those who intercepted the three teenagers, was injured.

The statement read: “Yesterday (Wednesday) night 3/5/2017, at 10:05pm, three female teenage suicide bombers attempted to attack military outpost popularly known as ‘Gontanamo’ along Muna garage.

“They were sighted trying to gain access to the premises and were shot by the securities leading to the detonation of their concealed explosives, which killed all three of them and injured one of the security personnel.”

Ibrahim revealed that the corpses of the three were evacuated to the Borno State Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri by emergency aid workers.

Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos, the Head, Information and Media of the board, Dr Fabian Benjamin, said about 150,000 candidates registered for the mock examination nationwide.

He added that the results of the mock examination had been uploaded to the board’s website.

“We have finished marking the scripts and uploaded the results to our website.

“We call on all candidates that participated in the examination to check on their results on our website.

“However, these results have nothing to do or add to the main examination scheduled to begin on May 13.

“So, we will not want those who did not participate in the mock to entertain any fear, because it will not take anything away from the main examination.

“We also want to inform all our stakeholders that registration for this 2017 UTME will officially close by 12.00 midnight of May 5.

“No fewer than 1.7 million candidates have so far registered for the examination, and by 12 midnight of May 5, JAMB website for registration will be closed,’’ he said.

The examination was initially scheduled to hold on April 8 but was postponed to April 29 due to some hitches.

NAN reports that 633 centres will be used nationwide for the main UTME starting on May 13

The state governor said the commissioning was in line with his commitment to make life comfortable for residents irrespective of location within the boundaries of the State.

Among the projects commissioned from Tuesday and expected to climax on Saturday include Ijegun-Isheri-Osun-Isolo Road, Idimu-Ejigbo Road (Phase II), New Market Road, Camp Davies Road/Ishefun Road, all in Alimosho Local Government Area; Brown Road in Surulere; Adisa Ajibulu Road with Bridge and Kolawole Shonibare Street, Ajao Estate Road, both in Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area.

Other projects include installation of new transformers in Ibeju-Lekki, Epe, Eredo, Agbowa-Ikosi, Igbogbo-Bayeku, Ikorodu and Olorunda areas as well as Ojuloge Monument located opposite National Arts Theatre, Iganmu; Empowerment Monument at Sabo, Yaba; Drummer Monument at Ebute Ipakodo Roundabout, Ikorodu and Badagry Recreational Park, Topo, Idale.

During the commissioning of Ijegun-Isheri, Osun-Isolo Road, the governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Tpl. Wasiu Anifowose, said the delivery of the road project was part of the efforts of his administration to ease movement of people from one point to the other.

The dual carriage way road project, which included two bridges at Isheri Oshun and Ailegun junction, drains on both sides, service ducts and street lighting, among others, is a viable alternative route for people of Ijegun, Ijeododo and Isheri Oshun to link Apapa-Oworonshoki Expressway through Jakande Estate.

The leadership of the university also directed its security agencies to arrest any student culpable of the offence, warning that improperly dressed students would be barred from entering offices and attending lecturers.

The Vice-Chancellor of UNIJOS, Prof Sebastian Maimako, gave the directive in Jos on Wednesday during the matriculation ceremony for 7,000 students for the 2016/2017 academic session.

Maimako said 31,759 candidates chose UNIJOS as their first choice with 25,785 for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and 5,974 for Direct Entry in the 2016/2017 session.

The VC said although the social media had remained the vogue of the present society, it should not be used for negative reasons.

He said, “In line with the extant rules of the university, no student is permitted to publish anything concerning the university without the written permission of the vice-chancellor through the registrar.”

The leadership of the university also directed its security agencies to arrest any student culpable of the offence, warning that improperly dressed students would be barred from entering offices and attending lecturers.

The Vice-Chancellor of UNIJOS, Prof Sebastian Maimako, gave the directive in Jos on Wednesday during the matriculation ceremony for 7,000 students for the 2016/2017 academic session.

Maimako said 31,759 candidates chose UNIJOS as their first choice with 25,785 for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and 5,974 for Direct Entry in the 2016/2017 session.

The VC said although the social media had remained the vogue of the present society, it should not be used for negative reasons.

He said, “In line with the extant rules of the university, no student is permitted to publish anything concerning the university without the written permission of the vice-chancellor through the registrar.”

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn, expects his boxer to be back in action later in the year, around October or November.

The undefeated Brit is the talk of the boxing circle after his thrilling match against Klitschko, which he won in the 11th round.

The IBF and WBA world heavyweight title holder, is expected to take some time off, but Hearn is targeting autumn for a return to the ring.

“I think every fighter, after going through a fight like that, the first thing they tell you the week after is that they just want to get back into the gym, and they are going to do this, and improve on that, and they don’t want too long to be laid off,” said Hearn.

“Then, after about five days, they turn around and say ‘I want to go on holiday’.

“So, we are on that period. I saw Anthony was swimming this morning and shadow boxing under water.

“I am guessing in the next 48 hours, he will say ‘I want to go on holiday, I need a break’, so that will come.

“Speaking to [Joshua’s trainer] Rob McCracken yesterday – October, November, is probably the kind of date you will see Anthony Joshua back in the ring.”